Chapter Text
Today was just another peaceful day at U.A. High School. And once again, the day is saved... thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!.
In the General Studies and Management departments, students went about their classes as usual. In stark contrast, the Support Department was buzzing with far more frantic energy than ordinary, especially among the boys. The source of the excitement was Melissa Shield, an exchange student from I-Island. Currently, she was huddled up with Mei Hatsume inside the Support Department’s infamous "Cursed Lab"—a place where explosions triggered like clockwork every two seconds.
And then, of course, there was the Hero Department. The entirety of the hero course students was gathered inside the U.A. auditorium, flanked by almost the entire faculty. But most importantly...
"Am I a mouse? A dog? A bear? Well, my true identity is... the Principal!"
Principal Nezu opened the ceremony with a deceptively simple greeting, though his pitch-black eyes gleamed with a sinister amusement, paired with his signature predatory smile.
"You may all wonder why all three year-levels have been gathered here at once. As you know, the curriculum has been accelerated, leaving only the second-semester final exams. That is precisely why you are in this room."
"The topic for this semester's finals across all three years is... Civil Warfare!"
"Furthermore, this will be an all-year joint examination."
The moment the topic was unveiled, panic rippled through the student body, particularly among the Class 1-A and 1-B freshmen, who had never experienced an exercise on such a massive scale.
"C-Civil Warfare?!"
The soft exclamation escaped our resident good boy, Izuku Midoriya. In a flash, a notebook materialized out of nowhere in his hands. He flipped to a fresh page, muttering and analyzing under his breath so intensely that his nearby classmates began to break into a cold sweat.
"Does this mean we have to split into factions and fight each other? How will they balance the power dynamic across three years? The third-years are incredibly strong, especially the Big Three... *mumble mumble mumble*..."
"Quiet down, Midoriya," Mr. Aizawa cut him off smoothly. His deadpan eyes scanned the growing commotion among the students. "Let the Principal finish explaining the rules."
Principal Nezu casually took a sip from a tiny teacup that hadn’t been there a moment ago, before continuing in a cheerful tone that sent a collective shiver down everyone's spines.
"The rules are quite simple. We will divide all hero students into two factions: the 'Hero Faction' and the 'Villain Faction.' The system will randomly select (?) the leaders for both sides from the entire student pool. As for the remaining members... you must choose for yourselves which side to join. Or perhaps, you might be enticed over by various offers!"
"Huh?! Choose a side?! There’s nothing to think about! No matter which faction they're on, I’m gonna blow every last one of them to pieces!" Bakugo snarled, veins popping on his forehead, while Iida stood beside him, frantically chopping his hands in the air to calm him down.
"To ensure realism, we have completely demolished and rebuilt a massive city grid in place of the standard training grounds. Our thanks go to Mr. Ishiyama (Cementoss), who sacrificed his time, sweat, and soul to get it done in a mere three days."
Principal Nezu’s smile widened as he gestured toward the faculty seating. Cementoss sat slumped in his chair, looking utterly depleted, muttering a non-stop stream of curses at Nezu—calling him a demon rat, a dark lord, a tyrant who denies overtime, and complaining that he was making him too rich for his own good.
Nezu, entirely unfazed and visibly amused, pressed a button to light up the auditorium's main screen. It displayed a massive, circular city layout divided into seven distinct sectors.
"We have divided the city into one central hub called 'Central.' It will serve as the watchtower, command center for the heroes, and the communications nexus. Central is positioned dead center of the map, surrounded by the rest of the city."
"The remaining six sectors are districts assigned to each hero class, categorized from A to F. District A is overseen by Class 1-A, scaling up to District F, which is managed by Class 3-B."
"That covers the basic layout... and now, it's time for the Wheel of Fortune!"
With that declaration, the students exchanged tense glances. The atmosphere in the auditorium shifted instantly from panic to suffocating tension. Close friends began eyeing each other with suspicion; in this simulated war, the person sitting right next to you could become your worst enemy tomorrow.
The map on the screen was replaced by a massive digital wheel spinning through the names of all 120 hero course students. It whirled at blinding speed, the clicking sound of the wheel's ticker echoing sharply in the dead-silent hall. Every eye was glued to the screen, hearts pounding, until the wheel gradually slowed down... and clicked to a halt on the first name.
[ Hero Faction Leader – Togata Mirio (3rd Year, Class A) ]
"Oh! Looks like I’m the leader of the Hero Team!" Mirio’s eyes widened before he burst into his trademark, radiant grin. His boundless enthusiasm instantly cut through the heavy dread in the room. "I'm in your hands, everyone! Let's work together to protect the simulated city and keep it safe!"
Without giving the students a moment to breathe, the wheel on the right side began to spin again. The mechanical ticking heightened the escalating pressure. Hundreds of names blurred past before it slowly ground to a halt... the red arrow pointing directly at a remarkably endearing, charming young man! No one noticed the white chimera in the corner secretly pushing a button to rig the results. (Izuku: I got trolled, I totally got trolled).
[ Villain Faction Leader – Midoriya Izuku(1st Year, Class A) ]
"EEEEEEH?!!!!!!"
The collective scream from Class 1-A was loud enough to nearly blow the roof off the auditorium. Every single gaze pierced through the green-haired boy, who had gone completely pale. His mouth hung open, gasping like a fish as his soul practically departed his body. His surrounding classmates instinctively took a synchronized step backward.
"The RNG is absolutely brutal..." Denki clutched his head, looking utterly resigned to his fate. "Pitting the strongest third-year ace in the school as the Hero Leader... against Midoriya for the Villains? That guy is just a hero otaku who wouldn't even step on an ant!"
"Why you...!! You!! DEKU!!" Katsuki ’s palms erupted with a violent crackle of sparks, his face contorted in a rage so pure he looked far more like a villain than anyone else in the room. "Why the hell do you get to be a leader, huh?! I’ll crush you! I don't care what side I'm on, I’m gonna beat you to a pulp right in District A, just you watch!!"
"Bakugo, sit down!" Mr. Aizawa glared, activating his Erasure quirk to nullify Bakugo's sparks. Forced to sit, Bakugo slumped back into his seat, visibly seething.
"And to ensure fairness... Midoriya-kun’s Villain Faction will receive a 'simulated budget' twice the size of the Hero Faction! Furthermore, from this exact moment until the official start of the exam, the Villain Faction will have a total of 168 hours to hide, set traps, or sabotage communications across all seven zones as they see fit."
The moment the Principal finished speaking, the air around Izuku shifted. A crushing weight of glares bore down on the boy who was about to become public enemy number one for the entire hero department—especially from those who had previously flunked their practical exams.
Izuku acted as if the suffocating atmosphere didn't even exist. He lowered his head, falling dead silent for a long moment. In that split second, it felt as though a switch had been flipped. His usual timid, humble demeanor vanished, replaced by an eerie, bone-chilling tranquility. He slowly raised his head. His once-panicked emerald eyes were now entirely devoid of emotion. Without a trace of anxiety, he calmly slid his notebook away.
"168 hours... and a seven-sector city grid with Central at the core. Fighting against Togata-senpai, who can permeate through anything, alongside a hero force occupying every zone... *mumble mumble*..."
"Approaching this with a standard hero mindset is a death sentence... I have to think like an actual villain... *mumble mumble*..."
Izuku muttered to himself, his voice no longer trembling but flat and hollow. Suddenly realizing something, his muttering stopped, and a smile crept onto his face. It wasn’t his usual smile; it was bizarre, resembling a simulated lifeform trying and failing to mimic human emotion. An instinctual fear of the uncanny crept into the hearts of nearly every student in the hall.
Izuku held that rigid smile, his facial muscles tensing into an unnatural expression. His eyes crinkled along with the grin, but they were vacant, devoid of any light—like emerald black holes.
Bakugo, who had his mouth open ready to hurl threats, froze mid-sentence. His wild, animalistic instincts were screaming bloody murder. Deep down, he realized instantly... the thing standing before him right now was no longer the worthless 'Deku' he used to know. It had become something best left untouched.
"Well, that is all you need to know for now. Everyone is dismissed, except for the two leaders. Please remain behind."
"Hero Leader, please follow All Might for a briefing. And as for the Villain Leader..."
"Please follow me to the Principal’s office."
Principal Nezu concluded cheerfully, true to his demonic nature. His words acted like a blade, severing the stifling silence.
Yet, the warped pressure radiating from the green-haired boy didn't fade. That unnatural smile remained frozen on his face. The emerald eyes that once burned with heroic determination were now completely still and vacant, as if he were sinking deep into the dark recesses of his own mind.
Given permission to leave, the students scrambled out of the auditorium, driven by pure survival instinct. Not a single person dared to look back at the first-year Villain Leader. Even the usually loud and explosive Bakugo merely grit his teeth, his eyes a mix of confusion and caution as he allowed himself to be swept away by the exiting crowd.
"Young Togata... this way."
A deflated, gaunt All Might called out to the Hero Leader, trying his best to sound normal. However, his sunken blue eyes shot a lingering glance at his successor, feeling a sudden, cold chill wash over his old wound. The instincts of the former Number One Hero were flashing a warning signal: something within Midoriya had fundamentally shifted, and it was something even he didn't recognize.
"Right! All Might!" Mirio responded, forcing his cheerful demeanor, though the thick bead of sweat rolling down his hairline betrayed the immense pressure he felt from his underclassman. He followed All Might out through a separate exit.
Only Principal Nezu remained on the stage. The small mutant hopped down nimbly from the podium and walked over to the boy holding the title of Villain Leader. Nezu’s pitch-black eyes stared deep into those emerald voids. His smile quirked upward—not out of fear, but out of a wild, chaotic thrill at witnessing a creature break free from conventional boundaries.
"Now then, Midoriya-kun... let us head to my office," Nezu gestured. "We have a great deal... of planning to do."
Izuku didn't utter a word. He simply fell into step behind the small principal, his posture perfectly straight, his footsteps eerily silent. Since the trek from the auditorium to the office was quite long, he used the time to text his friends, finally letting his true emotions bleed through...
[ Group Chat: The Four Heavenly Kings (But there are inexplicably 5... and now there are 9) ]
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): I'm screwed I'm screwed I'm screwed I'm screwed (panic.gif)
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): @Everyone somebody save meeeeeee (crying.gif)
Within a fraction of a second, replies flooded the chat.
Winning Formula: Who dared to touch my darling? (preparing_gun.gif)
Still-in-Love: Who did something to my Izuku-kun? (sharpening_knife.gif)
Time for an Experiment: ...Give me a sec, hacking the system now.
Flesh is Weak: Drones deployed!
Aizawa's Kid: You girls need to calm down! @My Quirk is Being Rich, can you tell us what happened to Izuku?
My Quirk is Being Rich: Well... long story short, the Principal organized the finals as a Civil War. The Hero Leader is Mirio-senpai, and the Villain Leader is Izuku-kun... who basically has to fight all three year-levels of the Hero Department.
Giant of Light: umu... (Ultraman_nodding.gif)
Golden Ratio: Exactly that~ You guys should've seen the moment Izuku-kun's brain short-circuited and his body just moved on raw instinct. (laughing_tears.gif)
Giant of Light: I am literally flooding.
My Quirk is Being Rich: Yui, no! Right now, NoHorny!!!
Giant of Light: Yui, yes!!!
Time for an Experiment: Hacked the footage. It happened in the auditorium. [Video_File_UA_Auditorium.mp4]
It took Melissa only a few heartbeats to bypass U.A.'s security system—widely considered the most secure in the world—to pull the live footage, allowing all the girls in the group to simultaneously witness Izuku's horrifyingly hilarious "Villain Leader" face.
Flesh is Weak: Wow... (drooling.gif) What is up with that hydraulic-like twitch at the corner of your mouth, Izuku-kun! Saving this as a discord gif real quick!
Winning Formula: Based on the calculated angle of that smile and the heart rates of the people around you... Darling, you just made that wild dog lose his mind for a split second. Absolute perfection! The equation for victory is already leaning in our favor before the match even begins!
Still-in-Love: Ahhh~~~ Izuku-kun looks so cute making a face like that! He looks incredibly dependable. That vacant emerald gaze makes my heart race... I want those eyes to look at me up close~ (sexy_pose.gif)
Aizawa's Kid: Talk about a total shock! But Izuku... are you doing okay? You typed a whole paragraph of panic. Honestly, seeing Darling's face like that on screen made my heart flutter a bit too. (blushing_crow.gif)
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): I am definitely not okay, Hitomi-san! T^T (crying_uncontrollably.gif)
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): My brain completely short-circuited back there! When I thought about having to fight Mirio-senpai and over a hundred others, my body just moved on its own! But I tensed my face way too hard... my face is still numb right now!
My Quirk is Being Rich: Oh dear... you poor thing, Izuku-kun. (headpat.gif) But don't worry. Since the Principal's terms state the Villain Faction gets double the simulated budget, combined with my personal assets... I will authorize unlimited funding to build your base and weapons! Money can buy anything!
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): Please, Momo-chan, don't act like a certain anime character from the pre-Quirk era whose family owned 51% of the world's economy but used it just to flirt, spending millions without even holding hands.
My Quirk is Being Rich: Hmm? Who said my family was just ordinary rich, Izuku-kun?
Winning Formula: Don't forget about me, Darling~
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): ... (DisappearingMeme.gif)
Time for an Experiment: Heh. Double budget plus Momo-chan's backing? Time to test some unregistered, cutting-edge tech from I-Island! Mei and I will build a simulated fortress that even Mirio-senpai won't be able to breach! For Izuku-kun's sake, this lab (love nest) will upgrade into the ultimate villain lair!
Golden Ratio: Wow, wow! This sounds like so much fun! Everyone is so pumped up! Even though the system placed me on the Hero Faction under Class 3-A... if Izuku-kun wants inside info on Mirio... (mischievous_smile.gif) you can whisper-ask me anytime, okay? In exchange for a reward after the exam~ (blowing_a_kiss.gif)
Giant of Light: umu. (Betraying your faction for a man... Yui approves).
My Quirk is Being Rich: Nejire-senpai! Yui! You can't just betray your own side to steal Darling before team allocations have even begun! (clutching_head.gif)
Aizawa's Kid: Heh, these girls have completely lost their minds... But Izuku, if you need me to use my brainwashing to pull some key pieces from their side, just say the word. As a friend(?), I've got you fully covered.
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): ... (LoadingMeme.gif) Everyone, please! I still want to be a hero after this final exam!!! (frustrated_hamster.gif)
Walking Disaster (Incarnate of Lust): More importantly, I’m right outside Principal Nezu's office now ;^; (shivering.gif)
Winning Formula: Chest out, Darling. As your harem... I mean, as your support system, we'll be cheering you on!
Izuku took a deep breath, his previously numb face flushing a bright crimson out of sheer embarrassment from reading the girls' playful(?) messages. He quickly slid his phone into his pocket, gathered his courage, and followed Principal Nezu into the room.
Principal Nezu settled onto his sofa, visibly delighted to see this hidden side of the student he wished to take on as a star pupil. He gestured to the seat across from him, and Izuku sat down obediently.
As Izuku’s back hit the plush cushions of the comfortable sofa, the view through the grand office windows revealed the newly constructed seven-sector simulated city. It stretched out below like a colossal chessboard, waiting for its grandmaster.
"Now then, Midoriya-kun, please relax. That soul-crushing smile from earlier left quite an impression on me; my heart was practically dancing. You are truly fitting the role of the Villain Leader I envisioned."
Principal Nezu spoke playfully as he poured steaming hot green tea into a fine ceramic cup, sliding it across the table toward the boy.
"P-Principal! Please don't tease me like that!" Izuku waved his hands frantically, his already red face flushing so hard steam practically hissed from his head. "That was... that was a complete accident! I was just so shocked my brain couldn't process anything in time..."
Principal Nezu let out a soft chuckle, his pitch-black eyes brimming with a cunning fondness, looking every bit like a proud mentor adoring his favorite student. Naturally, he didn't dive into business immediately.
The small mutant simply sat there smiling, raising his teacup to his lips and slowly inhaling the rich aroma of the premium leaves. His dark eyes flashed with deep meaning as they locked onto the green-haired boy. He didn't utter a word, as if waiting for the newly appointed Villain Leader to take the initiative and ask the questions weighing on his mind.
Gradually regaining his composure, the tremor in Izuku's emerald eyes gave way to a sharp stillness. He broke the silence.
"Principal Nezu... what are the exact passing criteria and specific privileges granted to the Villain Faction for this exam?"
The demon rat principal chuckled with immense satisfaction at seeing his favorite student’s gaze turn entirely serious. Placing his teacup down, he clasped his paws together, the atmosphere in the room instantly shifting to one of absolute gravity.
Nezu pressed a miniature remote control, and a 3D hologram of the seven-zone simulated city materialized over the documents on his desk, accompanied by a glowing crimson display: [Villain Score: 0 / 300].
"Passing as a villain is fundamentally different from passing as a hero. Your Villain Team must accumulate at least 300 Villain Points to pass this final exam."
"The points are split into a 'Mission System' consisting of two categories: Main Objectives and Sub-Objectives."
Smiling broadly, the Principal tapped the desk, causing the details of three Main Objectives to manifest in dark red text.
"There are three Main Objectives in total. Successfully completing one yields 100 Villain Points. They consist of:
-
Grand Theft: Stealing assets with a combined value exceeding 100 million yen from simulated financial institutions within the city.
-
Sabotage: Destroying infrastructure and public utilities to cause simulated damage exceeding 100 million yen.
-
Mass Homicide: Eliminating over 100 people simultaneously—which, in this context, means neutralizing hero students or civilian drones in a single, coordinated strike."
Izuku stared at the brutal conditions envisioned by the Principal, his mind processing the parameters at lightning speed.
"Now, if those prove too difficult, we also have Sub-Objectives to accumulate points gradually," Nezu explained cheerfully. "Sub-Objectives yield anywhere from 1 to 10 Villain Points depending on severity and impact. Examples include petty theft, assaulting heroes, cyber-attacks to breach systems, or even spreading propaganda and fake news to slander the hero faction, eroding the simulated public's trust."
Principal Nezu paused, locking eyes with the boy intentionally before dropping the bombshell regarding their massive structural advantage and team-building rules.
"And for realism's sake... your Villain Faction will receive a 'simulated budget' twice the size of the heroes. Additionally, from this very moment until the exam commences, the Villains will have free rein over a 168-hour window to hide, set traps, or sever communications across all seven zones."
"Oh... and there is an important rule regarding your potential pieces." Nezu gestured to the student roster icons, which were currently all highlighted in blue.
"At the start, every student is automatically assigned to the 'Hero Team.' However, should anyone wish to defect or transfer to the 'Villain Team,' they must negotiate and submit their request directly to you as the Villain Leader. You will then forward the new roster to me, as the supervising adviser of the Villains, for approval. All Might will handle the Hero roster... Simply put, if you want someone to join your wicked cause, you must 'win them over' or use subterfuge to recruit them yourself!"
This particular rule made Izuku’s eyes widen slightly. Defection requiring direct approval from both the Villain Leader and the Principal meant the next 168 hours were an open invitation for espionage and betrayal.
"Furthermore..." Nezu smiled so widely his eyes narrowed into slits. "I happen to know... you have some highly influential 'personal allies' at your disposal, yes? Support course students like Hatsume-san and Shield-san, as well as Yaoyorozu-san from your own class... If you can pull them to your side outside the confines of the match, the school will deem it a valid villainous trait of 'persuasion'! This extends to external help as well; feel free to bring in outside black-market funding as you see fit. After all, facing the prospective Number One Hero and over a hundred students is no small feat..."
The Principal's eyes danced with uncontained excitement. It was crystal clear that this creature didn't just want to test his students—he wanted to witness absolute, unmitigated chaos, the likes of which the educational system had never seen, and that the HPSC bureaucrats would utterly despise.
Izuku fell silent, staring at the rotating hologram of the seven-zone city grid. His mind analyzed the data like a seasoned strategist. His slender fingers tapped lightly against the desk before he looked up to meet Nezu's gaze once more. The emerald eyes held no more hesitation; they were cold, calculated, and sharp, searching for the exact loopholes needed to upend the entire board.
"Principal Nezu... before I begin executing my strategy, I require the full, unedited bylaws of this 'Civil Warfare' exam, as well as immediate clearance for the exam's official 'Villain Manual'."
Izuku spoke in a flat, even tone. Principal Nezu raised an eyebrow, his cunning smile widening with pure satisfaction.
"Oh? Interested in the legal framework and regulations? Truly vintage Midoriya."
The Principal slid open a desk drawer, pulled out a sleek tablet, and passed it across to Izuku. The screen displayed a massive document titled: 'Simulated Warfare Guidelines and Protocols: Villain Faction'. Izuku took it, scanning the text at a blistering pace, checking every syllable for boundaries and restrictions.
"The core rules of this engagement are sparse," Nezu elaborated, sipping his tea. "Rule one: no lethal force or weapons that inflict actual life-threatening harm. All Support Department gear and your quirks will be moderated by U.A.'s sensor grid. Anyone taking fatal damage in the simulation is deemed 'K.I.A.' and eliminated instantly. Rule two: the Hero Faction will have no knowledge of the Villain HQ's location until the match officially starts. Rule three: all combat operations are strictly restricted to Districts A through F and Central."
"Restricted to the surface of the simulated city..." Izuku countered instantly, his eyes flashing as he caught the first loophole. "Meaning the subterranean sewage systems, the foundational layouts poured by Cementoss-sensei, and external communication networks linked from outside campus are not explicitly listed under the restrictions, correct?"
Principal Nezu paused mid-sip, then let out a delighted cackle. "Haha... spot on. Those constitute 'gray zones' not barred by the protocols. If the Villains manage to occupy or sabotage them beforehand... it is entirely within their right."
"And regarding the 'Villain Manual' parameters?" Izuku pushed further, his fingers scrolling through the simulated legal codes on the screen. "If I deploy localized climate-altering arrays or utilize a specialized laughing gas formula from Hatsume-san to render 100 hero students combat-incapable simultaneously without drawing a single drop of blood... will the system register that under Main Objective 3: Mass Homicide?"
"As long as the sensor grid evaluates those heroes as 'permanently incapacitated' within the theater of war, it counts toward your score," Nezu clapped his paws in pure joy. "The same applies to the simulated banks. If you execute a cybernetic transfer of simulated funds exceeding 100 million yen without ever touching a physical gold bar, the system will validate the Grand Theft objective."
Hearing the confirmation directly from the ultimate arbiter of the exam, a faint smile graced Izuku’s lips. It wasn't the panicked expression from before, nor the uncanny grin from the auditorium. It was the calm, terrifying aura of a tactician who had already figured out how to break the game. Every single rule Nezu had established to corner him had just been weaponized to systematically dismantle the heroes.
"Thank you very much, Principal Nezu. This data... is more than sufficient." Izuku placed the tablet down and stood up to his full height, his eyes burning with absolute focus. "In that case... I intend to leverage the entirety of our allocated budget in advance, and I request immediate authorization to modify the power grids and underground infrastructure of the simulated city starting this very minute, Principal."
Principal Nezu watched the retreating back of the green-haired boy with an exhilarating sense of anticipation. "Oh... don't forget to submit your initial roster to me by this evening, Leader."
"Right... as for the roster, I already finalized it while we were still in the auditorium."
Izuku replied without looking back. His next destination was the Cursed Lab... where his syndicate was waiting.